Girls Write Out
Sunday, August 22, 2010

Say AAAAHHHHH!

So I'm feeling pretty lousy with a sore throat, fever, and chills and decided to get checked out. It's Sunday so my options are limited. Redimed it is.

After the doctor examines me, she offers antibiotics in case I have strep. But--not wanting to take meds needlessly--I ask for a throat swab. My first mistake.

The nurse arrives, and I open my mouth obediently. She comes at me with the tongue depressor and swabs the back of my throat for a full five seconds. I start backing away. I mean 5 seconds, she's bound to have a sample right?

No, she needs to do it again.

I open my mouth. She swabs around for another 5 seconds, and I'm pretty sure she's under the mistaken impression that she's supposed to paint my esophagus. I'm about to lose my breakfast, so I start backing away. Surely, she has enough now.

She looks at the swab and shakes her head.

"Oh. My. Gosh." I seriously say that because, well, can you say incompetent?

"Try and relax your tongue," she says. As if this is MY fault. Isn't that what the wooden stick is for?

Hey lady, this isn't my first date with a throat swab. I don't say it, but I'm this close. I look around for a camera. Surely I'm being Punk'd. But no, she's for real.

She goes back in for a third time and apparently comes away with my appendix. Swell. Put that on the slide, just take your tools of torture and go. I realize belatedly the doc was only trying to spare me from Nurse Hatchet. I mean, I was feeling bad enough when I came in, right?

I walk away realizing, among other things, that it really is our job to be competent at what we do. Whether you're a nurse at Redimed or a writer of novels, don't we owe it to somebody to know what we're doing? I think so. Especially now.

And in case you're wondering, no, I don't have strep.
Denise Hunter  
posted at 9:01 PM  
  Comments (10)
 
 
Delicious Delicious
10 Comments:
At 9:19 PM, Blogger jel said...

sorry ya don't feel good,

but glad it wasn't strep.


don't like them tongue sepressor,
I gag every time :(

 
At 10:25 PM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

Yuck, Denise! I've had some bad experiences, too. Doctor's offices scare me-mostly because they make you weight every time you walk in.

Unqualified medical personnel scare me even more!

 
At 11:41 PM, Blogger Pam Sanderlin said...

Ha!Ha!Ha! Great post. You have such a funny sense of humor--even when you're sick. Hope you feel better. :)

 
At 12:41 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

I'm glad you don't have strep and therefore need to take antibiotics. However, don't you almost wish you did to explain why you feel so rotten? I've been sick all summer with one virus after another. Finally got bacterial bronchitis...I was never so glad to have a reason for my fever and malaise!

Get better soon!!

 
At 9:35 AM, Blogger Denise Hunter said...

Yes, it's good to get a confirmed diagnosis, but I'm still glad I don't have strep.

That nurse was as bad as she sounds. I don't know if I was her first or what.

 
At 10:45 AM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

I'll tell you girls what I've told Denise, and this is not a commercial. I was sick almost every other week earlier this year. Then I went back on a supplement I was taking last year before my shoulder surgery. The stuff is called MAX GXL. It assists the body in building glutathione levels in the body. Glutathione levels drop as we age, and that's why we feel the age so much. I also started giving this to Mel when he was feeling low, and it's helped him, even though I only give him half the amount.

As I said, not a commercial, it just worked for me. My shoulder healed more quickly than anyone expected, and I attribute that to MAX GXL.

 
At 1:11 PM, Blogger jel said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 2:09 PM, Blogger Crystal Mazzuca said...

I shouldn't laugh at someone else's misery...

And yet I can't stop :)

 
At 2:49 PM, Blogger Courtney Walsh said...

Oh, wow, Denise. That is awful. I think I meet more incompetent people in the medical field than any other (not to offend those who DO know what they're doing, but maybe it just seems worse when it's painful, uncomfortable and involves our bodies...) yuck.

Hope you feel better!

 
At 8:11 PM, Blogger Diane Marie Shaw said...

So glad you don't have strep. When I read your symptoms I thought you were talking about me. I have the same ones right now. I'm staying away from the doctor though.
I take my health for granted and when it is not there I realize what a precious gift it is.
I pray that you are well soon.

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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